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Amazonian Tri-Country Indigenous Summit
In early September 1997, indigenous leaders from Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela met to demand the formal demarcation
of their lands, demand the expulsion of "squatters" who illegally use their lands for mining, and express
their concern over planned cross-border development projects. At the Amazonian Tri-Country Indigenous Summit, members
from the Roraima Indigenous Council (CIR), the National Indigenous Council of Venezuela (CONIVE), and the AmerIndian
Peoples of Guyana (APA) met to discuss their role in the development of the northern Amazon rainforest of Guyana,
Southern Venezuela, and northern Brazil.
Indigenous groups want land demarcation so it will be more difficult for the government to grant timber and mining
concessions on lands they traditionally use for hunting, fishing, and collecting rainforest products. Recently,
the governments of all three countries have granted huge logging concessions to Asian timber firms on lands traditionally
used by indigenous groups.
The leaders of the conference made it clear that while do not necessarily dismiss new development in the region,
they want careful social and environmental impact studies before projects proceed. More importantly, the groups
want a larger role in the decision making process on these projects which will directly affect them. At the 5-day
meeting, representatives expressed specific concern over the plan to run powerlines from the Guri dam in Venezuela,
though the rainforest (including Canaima national park) to Guyana and Brazil; the increased logging in the region;
and the highway projects linking Manaus with Caracas and Georgetown (Guyana) with Boa Vista (Roraima, Brazil).
Leaders sent formal petitions to the presidents of Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela and plan to continue meeting on
an annual basis to discuss progress. The organizers hope that the message of the conference will be recognized;
that indigenous people are no longer willing to be exploited by their governments.
"Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site. "Jungle" is generally not used.
Recent news
Beef consumption fuels rainforest destruction (02/16/2009)
Nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results from cattle ranching, according to a new report by Greenpeace. The finding confirms what Amazon researchers have long known – that Brazil's rise to become the world's largest exporter of beef has come at the expense of Earth's biggest rainforest.
How to save the Amazon rainforest (01/04/2009)
Environmentalists have long voiced concern over the vanishing Amazon rainforest, but they haven't been particularly effective at slowing forest loss. In fact, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars in donor funds that have flowed into the region since 2000 and the establishment of more than 100 million hectares of protected areas since 2002, average annual deforestation rates have increased since the 1990s, peaking at 73,785 square kilometers (28,488 square miles) of forest loss between 2002 and 2004. With land prices fast appreciating, cattle ranching and industrial soy farms expanding, and billions of dollars' worth of new infrastructure projects in the works, development pressure on the Amazon is expected to accelerate. Given these trends, it is apparent that conservation efforts alone will not determine the fate of the Amazon or other rainforests. Some argue that market measures, which value forests for the ecosystem services they provide as well as reward developers for environmental performance, will be the key to saving the Amazon from large-scale destruction. In the end it may be the very markets currently driving deforestation that save forests.
Amazon rainforest damage surges 67% in 2008 (12/20/2008)
The area of rainforest in the process of being deforested — razed but not yet cleared — surged in the Brazilian Amazon during 2008, according to new figures released by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The announcement comes shortly after the Brazilian government reported a 4 percent increase in forest clearing for the year. Using an advanced satellite system that tracks changes in vegetation cover INPE found that 24,932 square kilometers of Amazon forest was damaged between August 2007 and July 2008, an increase of 10,017 square kilometers -- 67 percent -- over the prior year.
Cutting deforestation can fight climate change, reduce poverty and conflict (09/24/2008)
Forest conservation can play a critical role in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate poverty, said a prominent group of politicians, development experts, and environmental NGOs meeting in New York City to discuss U.S. climate policy.
Future threats to the Amazon rainforest (07/31/2008)
Between June 2000 and June 2008, more than 150,000 square kilometers of rainforest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon. While deforestation rates have slowed since 2004, forest loss is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This is a look at past, current and potential future drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
